Abstract
1911 informal caregivers from the Federal Republic of Germany who care for someone with a chronic, non-congenital condition rendering them in need of physical "hands-on" nursing completed a standardized questionnaire on their situation as caregivers. The questionnaire was pertinent in particular to their own somatic symptoms (Giessen Symptom List, GSL) as well as their subjective burden (Burden Scale for Family Caregivers, BSFC). Eight out of ten caregivers in Germany are women. The home care of a dementia patient or of a distant or non-related person is taken on significantly more frequently by female caregivers. Somatic symptoms covering the spectrum of exhaustion, aching limbs, and heart and stomach complaints are in greater evidence amongst caregivers of dementia patients than amongst those caring for elderly people with relatively unimpaired cognitive performance. In all, the average extent of the somatic symptoms lies significantly above the age and gender specific value for the general population. The increased subjective burden of caregivers caring for a dementia patient expresses itself particularly in more interpersonal conflicts and clashes of interest between the care given and other areas of activity.
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